Alabama LB Christian Harris Drafted in Third Round

In Friday's third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Harris was selected by the Houston Texans as the 75th overall pick.

Author:
Joey Blackwell
Publish date:
Apr 29, 2022 10:02 PM EDT

In this story:

Alabama linebacker Christian Harris has found a new home in professional football. In Friday's third round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Harris was selected by the Houston Texans as the 75th overall pick. The Texans traded up to draft their second Crimson Tide player of the night after selecting John Metchie III in the second round.

Harris is the third Alabama player taken on Day 2 of the draft, following Metchie (44 overall, Houston Texans) and Phidarian Mathis (No. 47, Washington Commanders). There have now been five Crimson Tide players selected in this year’s draft as Evan Neal (No. 7, New York Giants) and Jameson Williams (No. 12, Detroit Lions) were drafted during the first round Thursday night.

With injuries to multiple starters at linebacker prior to his freshman season, Harris inherited a starting job at interior linebacker in his first year with Alabama. By the year's end, he totaled 63 tackles — including 7.5 for a loss — along with forcing a fumble and recovering two more. His efforts earned him a spot as a Freshman All-American by both USA Today and ESPN as well as a designation on the Freshman All-SEC team.

In his sophomore and junior seasons, Harris finished each year with 79 tackles, bringing his career total to 221. He finished his career with 10 sacks, one interception and seven passes defended.

BamaCentral Analysis:

For the second time in as many rounds, Houston traded up to take an Alabama talent. Harris had to wait until the third round to hear his name called but was still selected above Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean, who many projected to be a first-round selection.

Harris’ athleticism should play well into Houston’s defense as the Texans run a lot of Tampa 2. He’s also shown the ability to get to the quarterback as evidenced by his three sacks during last season’s national championship game against Georgia.

Here's a full evaluation of Harris, courtesy of NFL Draft Bible:

Christian Harris - Alabama Crimson Tide

Pros:

Very good athlete accelerates and reaches his good speed quickly making him rangy at the second level. Harris is a communicator on Alabama’s defense, getting teammates lined up and calling out audibles. He is a patient run defender who can scrape and flow fairly reliably. Once he triggers his explosiveness to the ball carrier is apparent. Stacking blocks with his length, he places his hands well and has plenty of functional strength to hold up against bigger opponents. Harris flashes violent hands and upper body strength to disengage. He has his hands ready to take on blocks at all times. His pursuit angles are conservative but get the job done. In coverage, he is very springy and fluid, possessing all the movement skills to succeed in zone or man coverage on tight ends. When blitzing, he is a consistent threat thanks to his burst. Solid open-field tackler.

Cons:

Inconsistent eyes lead to a lack of splash plays in the backfield. Harris can overrun angles when flowing laterally, allowing for cutback lanes. He is not a reliable tackler, getting juked out due to a lack of twitch and often coming in too high. In zone, he does not have the desired instincts, struggling to locate routes behind him and playing with bad spacing at times. Dynamic opponents separate at the top of routes from his man coverage. Blitz timing can be late.

Summary:

Athletically gifted linebacker with explosiveness and length. Harris is a modern-day player able to run cover and blitz. He has the physical traits and leadership qualities coveted. As a tackler, he is not reliable and in space, he lacks desired instincts to be a difference-maker. Harris projects as a future starting inside linebacker, ideally at WILL to take advantage of his movement skills. He has the tools to be special in the future.